Zhonglu is one of the most beautiful Gyalrong Tibetan Danba villages in Danba. It is an under-rated place in Danba. It is home to the authentic local Gyarong Tibetan people and the authentic life style that local people still keep. There are amazing watchtowers and colorful resident houses scattering on the mountain side of Zhonglu, making it a wonderful place to visit.
History:since 500BC
RLocation:320km west to Chengdu and 15km east to Danba
Administration Unit:Zhonglu Xiang, Danba County, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province
Population:total 2900 (the villages of Salako/Han’e’i/Kege'i is about 600)
People:Jiarong Tibetan (a sub-group of Tibetan People, an early group of Tibetan people)
Achitecture:a cross style of both highland Tibetan and farming Qiangic (total watchtower 88, total houses over 600)
People of Zhonglu are often considered (and is also officially categorized by government) to be Jiarong Tibetans however their language shows they have a closer connection with one of the ancient Tibetan tribes that now lives west to Lhasa at today’s Lhasa surroundings and Ngari (far west of Tibet, close to northwest Nepal). Excavations at Zhonglu show human activity from 500BC and through the history they have mixed with different tribes including Tibetan people, Qiangic people and Chinese people. The Khampa Tibetan people, who lives by the vast highland of west to Zhonglu, and who often think themselves as the “real Tibetan people”, often take the Jiarong people of/around Zhonglu as “outsiders” and sometimes refuse to recognize the Jiarongs to be part of the Tibetan family regardless of their similar religion and culture.
The difficulty of traveling around Zhonglu throughout the history has made villages like Zhonglu kept separated from other villages for centuries until recent 2 decades when roads are built and cars imported. However the ways of living kept somehow the same way today due to its remoteness and a still difficult place to access. This separation and independence has created a bond between the families within the village that they have to stay together and united to defend themselves and to aid each other.
People of Zhonglu are farming people. Most of their livelihood rely on farming. What come out from the farmlands include many kinds of fruit, corn, potato, Tibetan barley, wheat, pepper corns. Families often raise animals including pigs, cows, goats, chickens and also vegetables in order to be self-sufficient on food. The recent tourism boom also increased jobs and opportunities for more ways of local people’s income. Young generation of Zhonglu people goes to school and universities and often has chance and is also willing to find a job far from home in one of the big cities.
A family is the smallest unit of the village. Very often different generations live at the same house as a tradition. To build a new house for the new married couple is also popular if they can afford the time and money. Children are raised under the help of every family member. Each family is obligated to offer help when some other family is in need of help for example when someone dies in the village or someone gets married then the other families go to help as your help will be paid back when you need. People are often friendly towards each other within the village and also friendly towards visitors.
Traditions kept until today in Zhonglu include Guozhuang Dance, that is usually performed during New Year’s time. A matriarchal marriage that when a couple gets married, the man goes to live by the woman’s family instead of the other way. Although this kind of marriage becomes more loose in recent years.
Within Zhonglu the villages are dotted with watchtowers. At Salako there are about 8 towers although all of them are abandoned. These watchtowers were used to watch over any enemy invasion in old times. Some of these towers are over 4 hundred years old. According to the study, these towers show different styles and be called watch tower, beacon tower, village tower, family tower, of the last two kinds being the most common ones. Watchtowers are made of dirt and rocks, as there are no new towers built anymore, it's now difficult to get information of how it’s built. Most of the towers are over 10 meters and the highest ones over 20 meters with 6 to 10 levels.
Note they don’t call Zhonglu a village, but rather a cluster of villages. In Zhonglu there are several village where people acctually come from when they are asked they don't say there are from Zhonglu but rather actual name of their village. Zhonglu is the bigger name of the cluster of villages here. The usually referred "Zhonglu Village" under Zhonglu pricinct include the following villages:
Kege'i is "village of hapiness";
Gika'i is "village of stone watchtowers";
Gari'i is "Village of joice";
Posilong is "Valley of Golden Grass"
Zelong is "Valley of Monkeys";
Biangu is "Beautiful Holy Mountain";
Erdo is "Green Mountain Top";
Han'e'i is the village by the base of the Cave Shrine.
While Zhonglu means "The Promise Land".
“Mordo” indicates the holy mountain north to Zhonglu on the other side of the river gorge. It has many orgins of how the name came by. One of the popular meaning of Mordo is “Mythical Meteor”. Its name has appeared in many Tibetan records and Mordo is considered to be one of the four great holy mountains of Tibet. The elevation of Mt. Mordo is at 5105 meters. It is the highest mountain among the many peaks near Danba and Mordo is also the most prominent mountain visible from Zhonglu. The range where Mordo lies separates the Big Jinchuan River and the Small Jinchan River. According to local people, this mountain resembles a Buddha riding a lion and running from the west. And from southwest it resembles a holy blue vase that generates clouds, wind and rain, controlling the four seasons that nurtures the people of Zhonglu. The sometimes misty weather also inspired imaginations such as the ever-changing forms of Buddha. Behind the mountain there is a holy lake, that few have seen due to its difficult access, that is believed to be the heart of the mountain.
Legend goes a long time ago, there was a meeting of the gods that aimed to keep the world organized from long chaos. The one who can sit in jade chair should be the one who become the head of the meeting through Buddhist knowledge and martial competitions. Mordo came and won the competition by defeating the many other gods through 47 days of debating and 81 days of martial competition. When the moment Mordo sat on the jade chair and took off his hat to show respect to the others, the others shouted “mordo, mordo” when they saw his head was bold and shining with golden light. (Golden light usually indicates the sublimeness and holiness). So this legend indicates Mordo being the chosen Buddha that will protect the local people from evils and keep the people a wealthy and unharmed life.
Ticket info:free of charge
Recommended length of visit:3-4 hours
Opening Hour:all day
Best Time to Visit:March to November
Route: Danba
Route: Chengdu - Danba - Tagong - Kangding - Chengdu
Route: Chengdu - Siguniangshan - Danba - Tagong - Kangding - Hailuogou - Chengdu
